Definitions for: Fin


[n] organ of locomotion and balance in fishes and some other aquatic animals
[n] a stabilizer that resembles the fins of a fish
[n] a shoe for swimming; the paddle-like front is an aid in swimming (especially underwater)
[n] one of a set of parallel slats in a door or window to admit air and reject rain
[n] one of a pair of decorations projecting above the rear fenders of an automobile
[n] the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
[v] show the fins above the water while swimming (of fish); "The sharks were finning near the surface"
[v] propel oneself through the water in a finning motion
[v] equip with fins, as of a car



Webster (1913) Definition: Fin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Finned; p. pr. & vb. n.
Finning.] [Cf. Fin of a fish.]
To carve or cut up, as a chub.


Fin, n. [See Fine, n.]
End; conclusion; object. [Obs.] ``She knew eke the fin of his
intent.'' --Chaucer.


Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. &
Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf.
pen a feather.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane
supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous
ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the
water.

Note: Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the
caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other
fins being to balance or direct the body, though they
are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing
motion.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in
pteropod and heteropod mollusks.

3. A finlike organ or attachment; a part of an object or
product which protrudes like a fin, as:
(a) The hand. [Slang]
(b) (Com.) A blade of whalebone. [Eng.] --McElrath.
(c) (Mech.) A mark or ridge left on a casting at the
junction of the parts of a mold.
(d) (Mech.) The thin sheet of metal squeezed out between
the collars of the rolls in the process of rolling.
--Raymond.
(e) (Mech.) A feather; a spline.

4. A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats.

Apidose fin. (Zo["o]l.) See under Adipose, a.

Fin ray (Anat.), one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or
bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of
fishes.

Fin whale (Zo["o]l.), a finback.

Paired fins (Zo["o]l.), the pectoral and ventral fins,
corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher
animals.

Unpaired, or Median, fins (Zo["o]l.), the dorsal, caudal,
and anal fins.


Fin, n. (A["e]ronautics)
A fixed stabilizing surface, usually vertical, similar in
purpose to a bilge keel on a ship.

Synonyms: 5, break water, cinque, fins, five, fivesome, flipper, flippers, Little Phoebe, louver, louvre, pentad, Phoebe, quint, quintet, quintuplet, tail fin, tailfin, V

See Also: appendage, auto, automobile, car, caudal fin, decoration, digit, dorsal fin, equip, extremity, figure, fish, fit, fit out, jalousie, machine, member, motorcar, ornament, ornamentation, outfit, pectoral fin, pelvic fin, ray, ship, shoe, slat, spline, stabiliser, stabilizer, swim, tail fin, ventral fin

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